BACKGROUND: The management of carcinoma of unknown primary site remains debatable. The literature data consists of about 29 phase-II studies investigating 38 regimens, providing a broad range of response rates (RR). METHODS: We performed a pooled published data analysis to identify the factors influencing RR in these 29 studies. RESULTS: In front-line treatment, the overall RR was 31% (430/1,380). At least nine factors significantly influenced the reported RR, excluding drugs under investigation, such as the impact factor of the journal, single-centre study, some eligibility criteria, central radiological review, sample size calculation based on statistical hypothesis and stratification. Two drugs seem to improve RR: cisplatin and doxorubicin. Two drugs seem to be associated with a worse RR: irinotecan and carboplatin. CONCLUSIONS: This pooled data analysis illustrates that in a phase II trial setting, it is impossible to attribute the variation in RR solely to the modification of drugs under investigation.
BACKGROUND: The management of carcinoma of unknown primary site remains debatable. The literature data consists of about 29 phase-II studies investigating 38 regimens, providing a broad range of response rates (RR). METHODS: We performed a pooled published data analysis to identify the factors influencing RR in these 29 studies. RESULTS: In front-line treatment, the overall RR was 31% (430/1,380). At least nine factors significantly influenced the reported RR, excluding drugs under investigation, such as the impact factor of the journal, single-centre study, some eligibility criteria, central radiological review, sample size calculation based on statistical hypothesis and stratification. Two drugs seem to improve RR: cisplatin and doxorubicin. Two drugs seem to be associated with a worse RR: irinotecan and carboplatin. CONCLUSIONS: This pooled data analysis illustrates that in a phase II trial setting, it is impossible to attribute the variation in RR solely to the modification of drugs under investigation.
Authors: Gauri R Varadhachary; Dmitri Talantov; Martin N Raber; Christina Meng; Kenneth R Hess; Tim Jatkoe; Renato Lenzi; David R Spigel; Yixin Wang; F Anthony Greco; James L Abbruzzese; John D Hainsworth Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2008-09-20 Impact factor: 44.544
Authors: Bryan J Schneider; Basil El-Rayes; Jeffery H Muler; Philip A Philip; Gregory P Kalemkerian; Kent A Griffith; Mark M Zalupski Journal: Cancer Date: 2007-08-15 Impact factor: 6.860